If you have the task of managing other people at work, documenting how they do their duty, you can keep track of the facts and remove any ambiguities. Accurate documentation of job performance, good or bad, and of course disciplinary action, if necessary, is critical to looking after employees over time.
Steps
Step 1. Document personnel matters as they occur, not weeks or months later
To do this, the documents must contain a complete and accurate account of what was discussed and the events that emerged on a given date.
Step 2. Set aside some time
The benefits of this type of documentation far outweigh the time and effort required by verbal comparisons with employees about their performance. Report the topics of discussion, who was present, what problems or concerns arose, and what promises or agreements were made in order to produce paper documentation for future reference. By collecting well-documented employee information, you will avoid misunderstandings between parties and offer legal protection to you and your employer in the event of disputes.
Step 3. Describe the highlights of a conversation
Summarize the terms negotiated (i.e., who will do what, within what deadline), the reminders made to an employee, the specific performance measures you have analyzed together, and the commitments made by all parties in detail.
Step 4. Stick to the facts
Do not consider notes made on conversations with employees as a personal journal, in which to express opinions and emotions. This kind of documentation can represent a public record in a courtroom, so be clear and professional. Write in a detached tone, as if you were an outside party detailing what happened while staying at a safe distance. Focus on quality of work, behavior and conduct, participation and availability. Do not attack an employee for reasons of character.
Step 5. Include other supporting evidence to develop solid documentation
This is something that can change depending on the situation you outline. Some examples: customer complaint letters as evidence of an employee's poor quality of service; copies of time cards as proof of an employee's habitual delay; copy of a consultant's analysis of an employee's low productivity.
Step 6. Document disciplinary meetings with employees, making notes that summarize three points of the conversation
- Acceptable standard of work performance, or minimum expectation, as a topic for discussion.
- The extent to which the employee has or has not achieved the aforementioned objective. Specify any violations and / or consequent disciplinary actions.
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The employee's perspective, response, or position regarding the problem. Give a detailed account of their arguments, even if you disagree or have doubts about their validity.
Document Employee Performance Step 7 Step 7. Ask the employee to review and sign an acknowledgment of the documentation you have produced
While some may refuse, your offer shows good faith. If the employee refuses to sign the documents, explain that his signature is a testament to the discussion on certain topics, not that he agrees with what was said. If he disagrees, encourage him to propose some corrections.
Advice
- Employees, and their lawyers, routinely dispute what you believe is irrefutable fact. That is why it is important to corroborate documentation with supporting evidence. Consider including detailed eyewitness reports, photos, copies of email messages, or other evidence with dates that emphasize the ambiguous nature of the facts.
- Spend ten minutes a day documenting your discussions with employees. The best time to do this is in the last ten minutes before leaving the office. In this way, the events of the day are still fresh in the mind. After you have updated your employee records, get into the habit of locking your filing cabinet as the last step of the working day.
- Make your notes objective. Don't just document employee mistakes. Create a dossier on each employee, in which to note the performance - both right and wrong - of each team member. By documenting what's good about worker performance, you'll be an impartial supervisor. If you limit yourself to analyzing only those who create problems, you risk having problems if a legal advocate claims that from the beginning you had "targeted" someone while ignoring or protecting others.
- Follow the suggestions and examples you find in the "Sources and Citations" section.
